BRCA1-Dependent Translational Regulation in Breast Cancer Cells

BRCA1 (Breast Cancer 1) has been implicated in a number of cellular processes, including transcription regulation, DNA damage repair and protein ubiquitination. We previously demonstrated that BRCA1 interacts with PABP1 (Poly(A)-Binding Protein 1) and that BRCA1 modulates protein synthesis through this interaction. To identify the mRNAs that are translationally regulated by BRCA1, we used a microarray analysis of polysome-bound mRNAs in BRCA1-depleted and non-depleted MCF7 cells. Our findings show that BRCA1 modifies the translational efficiency of approximately 7% of the mRNAs expressed in these cells. Further analysis revealed that several processes contributing to cell surveillance such as cell cycle arrest, cell death, cellular growth and proliferation, DNA repair and gene expression, are largely enriched for the mRNAs whose translation is impacted by BRCA1. The BRCA1-dependent translation of these species of mRNAs therefore uncovers a novel mechanism through which BRCA1 exerts its onco-suppressive role. In addition, the BRCA1-dependent translation of mRNAs participating in unexpected functions such as cellular movement, nucleic acid metabolism or protein trafficking is indicative of novel functions for BRCA1. Finally, this study contributes to the identification of several markers associated with BRCA1 deficiency and to the discovery of new potential anti-neoplastic therapeutic targets.